How Many Calories Should My Dog Be Eating?
Yes, But Are You Following the Recipe?
There are a number of good reasons not to feed your dog home-cooked meals. One is a preponderance of evidence in published research studies that fully 95 percent of the popular recipes for dog foods offered in books, on the Internet, by breeders, and by other popular sources are nutritionally inadequate and...
Dog Food Labeling Terms That Arent
Human-grade, Premium, Organic, Holistic, Gourmet, Senior, Natural, Supports Brain Development, Helps Muscles Function.
Pet food is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and companies spend no small amount of money deciding what words to put in large, bold letters on the front of their packages to get you to buy their brands. But many of the come-hither terms have no legal definitions. They mean whatever the manufacturer wants them to mean. Others do have …
Structure/Function Claims on Dog Food
Does Your Dog Need Supplements?
[From Tufts October 2012]
We did a study on two kinds of supplements people frequently decide to give to their dogs with heart disease, says Tufts veterinary nutritionist Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN, and found that six of 13 products did not disintegrate effectively, which suggested that they may not be be absorbed effectively in the gastrointestinal tract.
Another study, conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario, looked at probiotics - both veterinary and human products. In 17 out of 44 supplements - more than one in three - the probiotic organism was either improperly identified or did not even exist.
People think supplements are regulated as if they were drugs, Dr. Freeman says. But theyre not. Drugs must be proven to be safe and effective and made with good quality control before theyre put on the market. Supplement manufacturers dont have to prove anything. The onus is on the Food and Drug Administration to prove. …
Puppy Diets Need More Protein and Fat
Your Dog is Not Hungry; Shes Bored
Concerns Over Soy in Dog Foods Cause Worry
The Calories in Your Dogs Treats
As the nations people go, so go our dogs. By some estimates, at least 40 percent of the pet dogs in the U.S. are overweight, which puts an extra burden on their joints and backs and predisposes them to hormone-related diseases like diabetes. Its not all about transferring our own sedentary, non calorie-burning lifestyles to our dogs. Some of it is that dog food simply tastes much better than it used to.